Uber's Self-Driving Cars Arrive in Arizona

By
Angela MoscaritoloFeb. 22, 2017, 11:15 a.m.

The rollout in Tempe comes after Uber pulled its self-driving fleet off the streets of San Francisco.

Uber's self-driving cars are on the roll in Arizona. Passengers in Tempe now have the option to get picked up by a self-driving Uber, reports AZCentral.com. For now, Uber's self-driving vehicles will still have a human behind the wheel to take over if something goes wrong.

Brave enough to try it out? Just request an UberX via the app, and if you're in the right place at the right time, you'll be matched up with a self-driving vehicle. If you don't want to be Uber's guinea pig, no sweat: just cancel the ride and request a new one. Prices are the same as UberX.

The rollout in Arizona follows Uber's move in December to pull its fleet of self-driving cars off the streets of San Francisco after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registrations for Uber's autonomous vehicles.

Uber had stubbornly refused to apply for a California permit for its self-driving fleet, claiming that since humans were behind the wheel at all times the cars didn't need the $150 permit. The California DMV disagreed, and revoked the SUVs' registrations.

Uber then loaded its Volvo XC90 SUVs onto flatbed trucks and rolled them over to Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey welcomed them with open arms.

Ducey was among the first in the state to catch a ride in Uber's self-driving cars:

Google, one of several companies testing self-driving vehicles in California with a permit, is also operating in Arizona, with a fleet of Lexus SUVs supervised by the general public roaming the streets of Phoenix.

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Uber self-driving cars are also on the road in Pittsburgh, where the ride-hailing service has been testing its technology since 2015.

The news comes as Uber finds itself at the center of another drama this week after former engineer Susan J. Fowler published a blog post describing a culture of sexism at the company. Among other claims, she said a male manager had solicited sex over company chat, and was only given a "stern stalking-to." Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on Monday pledged to "conduct an independent review" into reports that upper management at the company ignored incidents of sexual harassment.

About the Author

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism. See Full Bio